Fiction Review
Madder Carmine
by Tyler Enfield
Winnipeg, MB: Enfield & Wizenty, 2015
274 pp, $14.95
Madder Carmine is the girl who haunts Dannon Lereaux’s dreams. Upon his return from the war in 1849, a chance encounter with this enigmatic woman sets Dannon out on a journey that is simultaneously mystical and vivid, populated by strange companions and moments of great philosophical clarity. Like many a young person before him, Dannon realizes that the home he has returned to isn’t quite where he belongs. In search of something more meaningful – the hope for the love of a good woman – he journeys into the mountains and far beyond, venturing into stranger and stranger worlds as he travels. Accompanied by an escaped slave, named Virgil Vol Krie, Dannon goes looking for Valhalla.
Dannon and his travelling companion are embarking on an age-old adventure in an age-old genre – theirs is a classic quest in pursuit of a dream, dogged by a murderous villain – but Enfield’s novel is rich with its own unique spark. His characters are dimensional and fascinating worlds in and of themselves, and Enfield exercises enough restraint to let them reveal themselves organically. The story is familiar without ever feeling tired: indeed, this energetic novel is quite simply a lot of fun, in addition to being thoughtful. Enfield takes his readers on a journey to a series of compelling environments (geographical and social), each replete with its own satisfying set of players, obstacles, and adventures. His scenes and spaces have a cinematic quality that is consistently engaging.Tyler Enfield’s Appalachia is both dreamlike and tangible, and Dannon’s spiritual adventures are as compelling as his enacted ones. The novel moves elegantly and effectively between the lyrical and historical, the concrete and the conceptual, the personal and the universal. It’s intelligent, and poetic, but it’s also a page-turner.
Madder Carmine succeeds as an example of the relatively new genre of “new-adult fiction”, targeting readers who are crossing over from YA fiction into adulthood. The novel is a satisfying exploration of a coming-of-age that lasts a lifetime, and while it does occasionally indulge in revelations that feel a little too easy for adult readers, it for the most part resists temptation, and commits to the more compelling work of leading Dannon to more important questions about his own experience. While some readers will get extra pleasure from Enfield’s allegorical references in Madder Carmine, the novel remains perfectly accessible without this added element, and won’t alienate readers who aren’t familiar with Dante. As an entry point to Inferno though, Madder Carmine may make that classic narrative more accessible and relatable for younger readers, who are perfectly positioned to identify with a surreal journey in pursuit of truth and self-knowledge.
